UBRI : Ultra Burner, Re-Imagined.

[BMX1973]

Looking good 

[Midschoolfool]

Thanks The frame pad is a little small. I think it isn't a frame pad at all it's a straight bar pad. It's like 7cm short of a real one. However, because the TT on the Burner is so short it actually looks fine. I needed to order some lagging any way to ship parts so I bought 10m of 6mm lagging for £7. That way I can make a new pad insert that fits better and get rid of some of these parts I don't want any more.

I also decided to change the pedals.



A couple of reasons really. Those Bevin things are huge. My intention was to cut off the outer trap and paint the inner one. However, they are not as pictured and the inner trap doesn't go all the way around. Also, if you remove the reflectors they look like turd. So I decided to buy those (which I have no idea what they are yet but hey, £12 inc) and then ID them and then remove the outer trap, oven cleaner off the ano and candy them in blue. I gotta say they look quite premium to me. That looks like a slab of billet in the middle and not casted either. Either way they will look far better.

[Midschoolfool]

Ordered this for the pedal traps.



Then did a quick mock up to make sure everything fits before I commit to powder. Seat post shim is slightly too small, needs some shaving out.







Don't want to smack a fluted seat post in with a hammer. It would never come out again.

[Midschoolfool]

Oh irony, how you mock me. Usually guys spend days trying to get a seat post out, not in



I had to grind down every flute on the post with a Dremel using a reinforced cutting disc, then cut the shim down etc. Took me over two hours. Totally worth it though.

[Mikku]

It's been a while since I popped in but I see you've been busy! & much busier than I've been with my Redline build!

As said earlier, everyone has different ideas on how a bike should look, which is what makes BMX so interesting, imagining how such and such a part would look, how we would change things on a build, etc, etc. I admire the path you're taking here and look forward to seeing how the frameset turns out. Good luck with it all and keep us posted on progress!

[Midschoolfool]

It's been a while since I popped in but I see you've been busy! & much busier than I've been with my Redline build!

As said earlier, everyone has different ideas on how a bike should look, which is what makes BMX so interesting, imagining how such and such a part would look, how we would change things on a build, etc, etc. I admire the path you're taking here and look forward to seeing how the frameset turns out. Good luck with it all and keep us posted on progress!

Thanks Mikku. I think my general ethos on bike building is do what makes you happy and to hell with every one else. If it makes you happy and it makes you feel good then that's what it is all about I keep changing my mind on whether I want to actually ride it or not. I'm not sure the tyres will carry my weight, given I am 17st and the tyres are 35 PSI. Hey, never say never though. Knowing me? I will be out there on Christmas day in the freezing winds (I live on the beach) riding up and down like a 8 year old

[Midschoolfool]

OK so almost time to wrap up the spending. I will sit down and do some maths later, but I am wary because I know it's gonna hurt 

I've wrestled with the original headset quite a bit. Whether to keep it original etc. The nut and the top threaded bearing cap are very nice. The bottom bearing cup is also pristine, but the top one has a 5mm or so patch where the chrome has come off and gone black. I think with these Raleighs the metal underneath was quite dark and dull. Any way, I was just going to use it as is and put the marked cup on the bottom etc and try to hide it. However, when I took a look at the bearings I could tell something was not right. The bottom cage was warped out of shape and does not spin very freely with a cap put in. So I was humming and harring about what to do about it. I did attempt to straighten the cage (and now the cap sits in the bearings as it should without any force) but it does not spin very freely. I guess I am spoilt by sealed bearings these days but yeah, did not watch twitchy steering should I ride it. I then considered the Mirage MX-4 which is a sealed bearing old school themed headset, and then as I do in my typical fashion decided to bin that thought and did something completely different



And then this little gem for a tenner to cap it off (literally)



Now again I have options open here. I can "anodise" the cups and etc or I can leave that silver and cap it off with the blue bolt

[dancetothedrummersbeat]

That anodize spray is good stuff. I used it on the stem on my Raleigh extra burner, and also on my Falcon Pro Beta build







I always add a few thin coats of clear lacquer to give a bit of extra protection. The instructions on the spray say to put the items in the oven, but i didn’t do that

[Midschoolfool]

Wicked 

It is the only stuff available these days and shipping was horrendous because of the new laws on aerosols etc. Ah well, I might need it more than once for the bike so it's nice to have

[T8YOR]

A great read and i love the difference of opinions however for me i really wanted an Ultra Burner just like my more wealthier mate.. Still would #cantletgo

[Midschoolfool]

A great read and i love the difference of opinions however for me i really wanted an Ultra Burner just like my more wealthier mate.. Still would #cantletgo

The extra £50 or whatever it was they cost (can't remember exactly now) was a lot of money back then. The thing is the Burner was more marketed toward kids any way, and you try convincing a parent it was worth it lol. It could have had diamond coated wheels they would still say no !

That is why I just never saw them. Not as a kid. The only kid who had one was a guy I grew up with (I had no idea he had it because he had it for about three weeks and then his dad got him a GT Pro) and he gave me the frame in 1992 or so. But then he was the richest kid around when I grew up. So yeah, just never saw any really. And especially in silver.

[Midschoolfool]

OK so the and paint arrived earlier. So that's cool. Also got some caustic soda, rubber gloves etc for stripping the and off of the pedals so I can paint them. Took the F&F to the powder coater, and decided on a couple of things. 1. To have it done metallic silver because it is really shiny and 2. Not to waste even more money having it clear coated after. So it's just met silver. This should bring the cost in at less than £600, or basically less than a survivor. I can just about live with that.

In the mean time I have been looking at upgrading the wheels on my yellow Quadangle. Right now it is running stock standard SE Racing Ripper wheels. Not sealed, 36h, bog standard Alex. So I started looking for a decent set of wheels and dear god, they are expensive. You are looking at nearly £300. I then thought about getting some Zrim wheels (IE all built and ready to ride) but the prices are just a joke. So I did some deep thinking the other night and realised that I spent over £600 on my yellow Quad and around £570 on the Burner. The key to all of it is building a bike from nothing. THAT is what costs the cash.

So, I treated myself to this. Mainly because for what I paid for it (£269 after a stock error on a red one) I can either ride it (gonna at least give it a couple of outings) or, strip the shit out of it and steal the wheels etc. The wheels on it alone would cost you £200 and the tyres wouldn't be cheap either (Odyssey Hydrant rims,Odyssey sealed cassettes etc.)

So yeah, I think if I ever do another "scratcher" I am going to buy a complete bike and pull it to bits.

[Midschoolfool]

Yup, this is the bit where I go quiet 'cause it's at the powder coaters

I looked over a few silver samples and tbh none of them really appealed to me that much. I know the colour is Fiat gold something but when I saw up close pics of the colour I wasn't truly enamoured by that either. It seems to have a gold tinge to it which is nice but doesn't look great with blue (IMO). I also wanted it to pop, and given hardly anything on it is original I didn't feel too guilty about picking "Sparkle Silver"



The pedals came at about 8pm last night (good old My Hermes FTL). They are awesome. Very small, perfect for a Burner. Nicely made too, and the traps came off with very little effort. I have the caustic soda and gloves in now, just waiting on the goggles because knowing me if I risked it I would end up with an eyeful.

I did finish my Sunday.



So that was cool. Also did some work on the Buff.



Just working on the plate now, and the plate for the yellow Quad.

[Midschoolfool]

Got the F&F back from powder today. Not had time or the chance to unwrap yet as am away until later tonight, but the bit I can see looks awesome.



So it's looking hopeful that this place might be for reals. If it is it will be a result as it's so easy to access and requires no posting etc. He also said that commonly coloured items will be much cheaper, as obs he can just hook them up in bulk with other things. He only charged me a nifty, and if it looks like that ^ all over I will be well chuffed.

[Midschoolfool]

OK so the powder coater did reasonably well. There is a wrinkle at the head tube (annoyingly) and two under the BB shell (I will sand these back).





Overall I am very happy. He said if I want any parts done in "standard" colours (like white, black etc) he will do them on the cheap as it saves the set up fee. I'm totally happy with the job though. I was never aiming for show any way given it's a custom and just a bit of fun. The rest is lovely though, but I thought he had screwed up because I could see these little bits. I figure I will carve them off with a scalpel, but it turns out they are welding slag from when the frame was made lol.

Got the F&F together.



And started building.



I may be able to ride this thing after all lol (Just !).

[Retrodan72]

Matey, you shouldn't have to be sanding anything back, if you're not happy, tell him to do it again.

Remember what I said about SBD, I won't say I told you so, but......

[Midschoolfool]

Matey, you shouldn't have to be sanding anything back, if you're not happy, tell him to do it again.

Remember what I said about SBD, I won't say I told you so, but......

You don't need to tell me, I know it was half the price of going to SBD. There is one wrinkle you can see and tbh? I can totally live with that. I'm fully aware that you get what you pay for, but I am balls deep into this thing (too deep tbh, never touching anything even remotely old again) and didn't want to up the cost any more. The rest of the frame and fork are perfect. If this were a Hutch, or something remotely exotic (given on what you see as exotic) then yeah deffo would have sent to Dan.

It's a 90% unoriginal Burner. I came to terms with that the day the frame arrived and I started trying to find original parts. 

Progress.

[Midschoolfool]

Is where it sits. Not starting until the postman has been because I was mid fitting the BB and had a big dollop of grease on my finger when he rang the doorbell yesterday 

I forgot to mention what happened with the ped traps. Firstly they were not ano as I found out after soaking them in caustic soda solution for nearly an hour. I found out they were painted. Then I found out why they were painted. After about an hour of Dremel/wire brush this is what I gots.



They are cast. Ironically about two days after I did the first trap I found a post somewhere saying that if alu was cast it looks like that  Oh well, "I've started so I'll finish" but I have ordered this to lay down a base before I paint on the blue.

[Midschoolfool]

Nearly there.

[oska]

One day I'll have a Burner again, coming on really well dude!

[deeman]

One day I'll have a Burner again, coming on really well dude!

Welcome to RAD...there were and are loads of Burners about, you should easily be able to achieve your dream! 

[oska]

One day I'll have a Burner again, coming on really well dude!

Welcome to RAD...there were and are loads of Burners about, you should easily be able to achieve your dream! 

Ha, cheers man. I don't have the money to plough into one yet but bought a '94 Haro Group 1 Ti recently, first BMX since my Night Burner was stolen in the 80's and it's just about old/mid school enough for me. Had to fill the gap somehow. Love it to bits and just adding a few changes but trying to keep it original as possible, it'll never be show condition as I'd be too worried about scratching it. I'm no pro it's just for me and for riding.

Been following Midschoolfool over at BMX Museum but thought I'd sign up here to be local. Hopefully to get some Haro items if anyone has any, I've fallen in love with the brand's old/mid school stuff, the Burner will come one day.

[Midschoolfool]

Yeah had to do a Burner. I think every one who owned or wanted one has to at some point 

Once I have it out of my system it will be straight back to the mid school for me

[oska]

That's cool man, I'll admit I haven't the first idea about all this, I just love it. I need to change the rear brakes for Bulldogs and maybe refurb the rear hub as it's got a bit of friction, looks like it's on original rims. Lot's of YT videos to watch!

[Midschoolfool]

OK so after a total of three hours prep (two hours taking off the paint with a wire brush on the Dremel and an hour of filing etc making them better than they were) I finally have the pedal traps in primer !



Still a bit gutted they were cast and marbled underneath but what can you do? it does make it a PITA, because now I have four stages to do instead of two if the alu had been good I could have candied/ano then clear, but now I have to acid etch, silver, ano then clear.

It's sodding cold ATM too and I found out that painting in the kitchen with the windows closed is a bad idea. I was off my face on fumes FFS. So I had to open the window which then meant fridge. It was 2c last night. Once they had tacked up I put them on the rad in the hall way. Thankfully my kitchen has a fire door, so it seals off from the rest of the flat nicely.

Will give them a couple of days to fully cure, then get some silver on them